The Oracle, Reading

The Oracle is a large indoor shopping and leisure mall, located on the banks of the River Kennet on the site of a 17th-century workhouse of the same name in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It was developed by, and is owned by, a joint venture of Hammerson and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

History

The Oracle takes its name from the 17th century Oracle workhouse built by funds from a local man John Kendrick. This once occupied a small part of the site now occupied by the shopping centre.

In March 1997 Hammerson acquired a 22 acre site of largely derelict and undeveloped land immediately to the south of the town centre. Most of this site was previously occupied by Simond's Brewery (latterly owned by the Courage brewing company) and by the Reading Transport bus depot (formerly the Reading Corporation tram depot). The brewery had earlier relocated to a new site adjoining the M4 motorway, whilst the bus depot was relocated to a location just west of the town centre as one of the first phases of the redevelopment.

Oracle (disambiguation)

An oracle in Greek and Roman polytheism was an agency or medium, usually a priest or a priestess, through which the gods were supposed to speak or prophesize.

Oracle may also refer to:

Ancient Chinese script

Computing

Publications

The Oracle (Hank Jones album)

The Oracle is an album by pianist Hank Jones, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Billy Higgins recorded in 1989 for the EmArcy label.

Reception

Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars, stating: "the interplay between the three musicians is quite impressive".

Track listing

All compositions byy Dave Holland except as indicated

Personnel

References

External links

Sully Erna

Salvatore Paul "Sully" Erna (born February 7, 1968) is the American vocalist and guitarist for the American hard rock band Godsmack. He is also a harmonica player, percussionist and pianist, performing these on albums and at live shows. He was ranked 47th in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader.

Early life

Sully was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He began playing drums at the age of three. His father, Salvatore Erna, was a trumpet player and would rehearse in the basement where Sully would watch and fall asleep in an empty guitar case. His great-uncle was a famous composer in Sicily, where every year they honor his music and his pictures are hung in a museum. At the age of 11, he discovered that it was easier for him to listen to something and play it than read sheet music. He stopped taking lessons and practiced at home, rehearsing to records by Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Motörhead, Rush, and Alice in Chains.

Musical career

At 14, Dave Vose became his new instructor. He signed his first record deal in 1993 with a band called Strip Mind. Their debut album What's in Your Mouth sold fewer than 50,000 units. The some of the band members (mainly the singer) and Erna didn't get along, and he was booted out. They split-up shortly after. In Godsmack concerts he plays the bongos and a large drum set, staging a drumming duel known as Batalla de los Tambores with drummer Shannon Larkin. This battle has become a staple of the band's live show. He is also a harmonica player as present on the Godsmack song "Shine Down." It was announced that Sully will work on a solo record due out sometime in 2010, it will stray away from the hard rock of Godsmack. Sully wrapped up his acoustic tour with one final show at The House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 28.